


Paper Rings

by pockettreatpete



Category: Political RPF - US 21st c.
Genre: Fluff, M/M, keep insulin at the ready, otp: wait that's my word, what is my life who am i why am i writing songfic?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-22 19:14:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21081707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pockettreatpete/pseuds/pockettreatpete
Summary: Chasten stays up late and listens to Taylor Swift's new album, and stumbles on a song that sticks with him.





	Paper Rings

**Author's Note:**

> This is dedicated to crimson who is the best and also made me listen to Taylor Swift and as such is personally responsible for this tiny little thing.

Chasten doesn’t mean to stay up until midnight to listen as soon as the album drops, but when he’s suddenly been reading longer than he meant to and the time has passed 11:30 anyway he figures he might as well. 

He knew he’d love it and he does, but after about half an hour he has to stop and play a song over. Then he plays it again. Then he reaches for his phone. He realizes what time it is somewhere around the fourth ring and is about to hang up when Peter picks up. 

“Hey,” he says, voice deliciously sleep-roughened. “Is everything okay?”

Shit, of course Peter thinks something’s wrong, when he’s calling at twelve fucking thirty am. “Yeah,” he says quickly, “yeah, everything’s fine. I shouldn’t have woken you up, I’m sorry.”

“Hey,” Peter replies. “Tell me.” 

“No, it’s...” He feels criminally stupid. “Taylor Swift released a new album tonight.”

“I heard something about that,” Peter says, and Chasten can hear him smiling, thank God.

“There was a song I wanted you to hear, I just didn’t think about the time.” 

“What’s it called?” He hears rustling and realizes Peter is reaching for his other phone.

“You don’t have to do that now, you should go back to sleep,” he says, still embarrassed.

“What’s it called?” Peter asks again, gently insistent. 

“Paper Rings.”

“And the album is ’Lover’, right?” Peter checks. 

Chasten’s quiet, listens to the tinny sound of ‘Paper Rings’ playing in Peter’s hotel room. Three times through means he can mouth along to the chorus. Peter doesn’t say anything when the music fades out, which unnerves Chasten. 

“I’m so sorry I woke you up for this,” he says again.

“Don’t apologize, love,” Peter replies.

“I know it’s not really you.” 

“It’s you,” Peter says, and his voice is so warm and gentle that it makes Chasten’s chest hurt. “It’s us.”

“You think so?”

“What was it she said? ‘Kiss you three times ‘cause you waited your whole life’?”

“Yeah,” Chasten breathes.

“Sounds like us.”

He loves his husband so much, and he wants more than anything to crawl through the phone to hug the owner of the sleepy voice on the other end of the line. 

“You know I would have married _you_ with a paper ring,” Chasten says. 

“I know you would,” Peter says. “So would I.” 

Chasten bites his lip. He gets emotional at night, and Peter knows that, but he doesn’t want to cry right now. 

“Go back to sleep,” he says, sniffing discreetly. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Peter says. “With paper rings.” 

Chasten leaves the rest of the album for morning and goes to bed with a warm glow in his chest.


End file.
